Letters on the Kantian philosophy / Karl Leonhard Reinhold ; edited by Karl Ameriks ; translated by James Hebbeler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reinhold, Karl Leonhard, 1758-1823.

Contributor:

Ameriks, Karl, 1947-

Hebbeler, James.

Series:

Cambridge texts in the history of philosophy

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804.

Kant, Immanuel.

Physical Description:

l, 230 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Language Note:

Translated from the German.

Summary:

The main objective of Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy is to expand the range, variety, and quality of texts in the history of philosophy which are available in English. The series includes texts by familiar names (such as Descartes and Kant) and also by less well-known authors. Wherever possible, texts are published in complete and unabridged form, and translations are specially commissioned for the series. Each volume contains a critical introduction together with a guide to further reading and any necessary glossaries and textual apparatus. The volumes are designed for student use at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and will be of interest not only to students of philosophy but also to a wider audience of readers in the history of science, the history of theology, and the history of ideas.

Reinhold's Letters on the Kantian Philosophy is arguably the most influential book ever written concerning Kant. It provides a helpful introduction to Kant's philosophy and a valuable explanation of how that philosophy can be understood as an appropriate Enlightenment solution to the Pantheism Dispute which dominated thought in the era of German Idealism. The first edition of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason was slow in gaining a positive reception, but, after Reinhold's Letters appeared, Kant's Critical Philosophy suddenly attained the central position which it has held to this day. The Letters also brought fame to Reinhold, who developed his own influential Elementary Philosophy and was succeeded by the leading figures of German Idealism: Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. This first English edition of Reinhold's work includes the original 1786-7 version as well as all the major additions and changes from the 1790 edition.

Contents:

Letters on the Kantian Philosophy

Letter 1 The need for a Critique of Reason 1

Letter 2 The result of the Kantian philosophy on the question of God's existence 18

Letter 3 The result of the Critique of Reason concerning the necessary connection between morality and religion 28

Letter 4 On the elements and the previous course of conviction in the basic truths of religion 50

Letter 5 The result of the Critique of Reason concerning the future life 65

Letter 6 Continuation of the preceding letter: The united interests of religion and morality in the clearing away of the metaphysical ground for cognition of a future life 76

Letter 7 A sketch of a history of reason's psychological concept of a simple thinking substance 89

Letter 8 Continuation of the preceding letter: The master key to the rational psychology of the Greeks 104

Appendix The major additions in the 1790 edition 124

B Selection from the First Letter, "The spirit of our age and the present state of the sciences heralds a universal reformation of philosophy" 129

C Second Letter, "Continuation of the preceding letter: The need for a highest rule of taste, for guiding principles for positive theology and jurisprudence, and, above all, for a first basic principle of natural right and morality" 146

D Selections from the Third Letter, "The shaking in the domain of the philosophy of religion heralds a reformation of this philosophy: my judgment regarding the Kantian philosophy in general" 168

E Selection from the Fourth Letter, "The result of the Kantian philosophy on the question of God's existence, compared with the general as well as particular results of previous philosophy regarding this subject" 177

F Selection from the Eighth Letter, "The result of the Critique of Reason concerning the future life" 189

G Selection from the Ninth Letter, "Elucidation of the metaphysical ground for cognition of the immortality of the soul with regard to its origin as well as its consequences" 193

H Selection from the Eleventh Letter, "The key to the rational psychology of the Greeks" 201

I Twelfth Letter, "Suggestions regarding the influence of the undeveloped and misunderstood basic truths of religion on civic and moral culture" 206.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0521830230

0521537231

OCLC:

61757090

Publisher Number:

9780521830232

9780521537230